I have anticipated stagnation by formulating the entire series for three months! Now, i will start writing out the chapters in a rather brief narration. This story compiles GTA and the Anime Universe with Pramoedya Ananta Toer's Buru Quartet Universe, which takes place in pre-independence Indonesia, to be exactly Surabaya, in 1898, just before the start of 20th century. What will happen and how the protagonist, Minke, the main character and narrator of Buru Quartet, copes up with this development?
PROLOGUE
The day began with the fragrant smell of fresh grass on the vast Buitenzorg farm. I woke up in the morning with full spirit and happiness. As soon as I got out of my bed, I saw the sweet sleeping face of Annelies on the bed. Well, Annelies and I had been... er... sharing the same bed together due to her psychological vulnerability.
To cut it short, let's summarize what had been going in my life for the past five months. I was a Native, a Javanese to be exact, who happened to enroll in the prestigious HBS, the only European High School which the Dutch, the small nation who had been colonizing my country for the past 300 years, erected in order to accommodate proper and 'civilized' education for the young European breeds. Of course, I would not be able to study here if my tyrannical father was not a sort of government official in my hometown, Blora. In other words, I never felt blessed to have such a totalitarian father like him except when I realized that my position as a student in HBS in this busy port city, Surabaya, which the Dutch called as 'the New York of Java'. Should I feel proud? When I found out that I could speak in six languages, I couldn't help my ego to spurt out. I was an intellectual!
Or, was I? Everything changed when this buddy of mine, some half-European half-Javanese worthless romantic (the term of such race at that time was 'Indo'), Robert Suurfhof, invited me to exhibit my courage in the front of a tangible angel. Before getting any details, I was tied in my arms to accompany him to the biggest farming industry (along with the hundred acres farm), which belonged to the Mellema family. They were among the richest European in Surabaya's outskirts, not to mention their nearest rival which was a mysterious Chinese guy who owned an exclusive brothel just next to the Mellema's farm. I still remembered the first time I saw the sign, which told the name of the huge agriculture business, 'Buitenzorg', on a wooden plate near the front high fence.
How did the sinister Suurhof know the Mellemas, who were not so connected to the public? Suurhof made friend with the Mellema's oldest son whose first name was also Robert on a soccer match. In fact, Robert Mellema was the first to welcome us in the Mellema's extravagant mansion in the middle of their continental land. However, that was not the peak of it. Soon, I had a heavenly visage of the most beautiful girl in the world; the girl was far more beautiful than Her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina whom I had been admiring for the past few weeks, though only through her black and white photograph (much to my pride, Wilhelmina and I were born on the very same day!). She introduced her name plainly, but so ethereally.
'My name is Annelies Mellema.'
I would never forget that day.
Well, if you think this is going to be a boring adolescence love story, I have to disappoint you all! After some very nice conversation (and there was practically no dialogue between Ms. Mellema and that prick Suurhof at all!), I got to know the insides of the Mellema family better. They were not as solid as they might seem. At least one fact was clarified; the mansion's security was assured by a group of Maduranese warriors led by the thick-moustache Darsam, who always carried his mythical blade.
Nevertheless, the following experience was far more enthusing. I got to meet Annelies' mother, a Native lady. Her gorgeous appearance, which clearly was inherited by Annelies, and her level of manner, impressed me vehemently. And what surprised me even more was the fact that she was a mere concubine. Moreover, she was a self-learner, taught herself Dutch language and Western manners with the aid of her husband, the Dutch Herman Mellema. Her intellect and never-dying spirit helped to form my fledging personality later on. For me, she was the second most important woman in my life now, only next to Annelies. Her name was Sakinem, but due to her resentment to her natural parents who had sold her to Mr. Mellema, she removed her birth name and adopted the name Mrs. Buitenzorg, or Nyai Ontosoroh according to the Javanese adaptation.
She was still in her thirties, while Annelies was still pure seventeen years old. I soon discovered more about that frightening family. Annelies and Robert Mellema were illegitimate children; they would never become the legal successor to Mellema's wealth. And Herman Mellema was now a psychologically disturbed homeless bum thanks to his legal son from his legal Dutch wife. One day few years ago, engineer Maurits Mellema was assigned a job by the Dutch government to strengthen Surabaya's naval defence. However, his first personal task was not that. He visited the then peaceful Buitenzorg farm to confront the labile Herman Mellema and remind him of his sins against Maurits and his mother. The verbal attack was so straightforward and painful that Herman Mellema's condition deteriorated and he fell for a mental collapse some days later. Largely disappointed to Herman Mellema's weak will to despise Maurits, Nyai Ontosoroh dumped Herman Mellema out of his own house, but he did not resist at all due to his mental disability and sought for refugee and pleasure in his Chinese neighbor's brothel. And he had never come back.
From my observation, Annelies was on Nyai's side while Robert Mellema tended to adopt European's blood superiority theory, thus sided with his ill-minded father.
Everything started to roll out. I managed to build a close friendship with both Nyai and Annelies until Annelies fell in love with me. She became love sick very much until it became detrimental to her own physical health. Mama (Nyai told me I had to address her with that name), who did not want to lose her only daughter and professional farm's manager (that's right; Annelies learnt to be the farm's manager and started working as so since the departure of Herman, and it was quite successful as long as Mama was there), invited me to stay in their mansion permanently. For the sake of the heavens, it was unimaginable. What would people think of me, an ordinary high school student, staying in a mansion under the same rooftop with the most beautiful girl in the world?
I made my decision and accept their request. Annelies soon recovered back and Mama started to confine my life to her miserable fate. Robert, jealous with my presence, ran from the mansion and changed into a bum like his father in the brothel. Some random Chinese-looking plump guy started to frame everywhere. When Darsam, who had been my trustworthy accomplice, found out, he began his wild, rather barbaric hunting. And that doomed encounter finally happened. One day, that suspicious bastard was spotted in the Buitenzorg's field by Darsam's eagle eyes. A heart pounding chase followed; Darsam horridly scurried out with his blade, chasing that plump bastard who had been scared the living daylight out of him; I ran after Darsam, Annelies sprinted after me, and Mama desperately kept us with the rest of us. We ended up in that wicked brothel and to our surprise we discovered the dead body of Herman Mellema lying on the floor, apparently poisoned. That plump bastard was nowhere to be found, neither was the brothel's owner, our Chinese neighbor. Instead, we spotted a pale, dispirited Robert Mellema inside along with a young Japanese prostitute. Robert disappeared soon after Darsam showed his mighty blade.
That was the very start of our big trouble. The European body of law, the White Court, was deeply indicting Mama and me to be conspiring against Herman Mellema with sexual and financial motives. Only uncivilized, barbaric people could do those very shady, atrocious, very prejudicial accusations. Yet, the Dutch, the Europeans, my teachers, the ones who educated me what the meaning of modern age and democracy was, betrayed my conscience by doing only just that for the sake of public's appeal. Our unnecessary trial became a scandalous headliner in the whole Surabaya. Annelies fell ill again due to the great mental pressure so Nyai and I had to exclude and secure her in the mansion. It seemed that those European judges refused to believe that Ah Tjong, the Chinese who owned the brothel, did poison Herman Mellema in order to seize the Buitenzorg farm. Mama, Darsam, his Maduranese subordinates, Annelies, Maiko (the Japanese prostitute), and I were interrogated with so many embarrassing and inhumane questions which implied their suspicion of the existence of sexual affair between Nyai and I.
Things got worse as the trial went on. HBS expelled me for my involvement in such an embarrassing case. I left my youth days without hesitation and turned up to my table, to my pencil and my paper. I wrote dozens of argumentative and persuasive essays about my suffering and how injustice had been acted upon Nyai, Annelies, and I. Yes, I exploited my biggest talent, writing, to defend myself and those who I loved the most. Soon, all newspapers, the Dutch and the Malay ones, were flooded with my writings, with my words of dissatisfaction, my cry for justice and my anger against those judges in the White Court. Nyai fought by hiring the best lawyers with her strong financial backing, though the farm's business had been declining since the scandal emerged.
Months passed quickly. Annelies still lay helplessly on her bed, waiting for a miracle to come to this earth of mankind. I never ceased writing and appealing to everyone's conscience and common sense, including to the Europeans, if they had any conscience upon us non-Europeans. Regarding Annelies, Mellema family's doctor, the kind, sophisticated Dr. Martinet, diagnosed most of Annelies' inner problems. I was shocked when I found out that Robert Mellema had once raped Annelies, causing Annelies to hate all the Europeans and their fair skin and red hair. Dr. Martinet concluded that only I could be her doctor. So be I; I became her doctor, her patron, her brother and at last, her lover, though actually I was at first smitten by her only because of her angelic beauty. I judged Annelies to be very childish, but I could not really blame her since she had been captivated since young by Mama. For the sake of her medication, I had to always stay beside her and even share my bed with her. My life stumbled down into a half-paradise, half-inferno situation. On one side, I had to excruciatingly baffle all the invalid accusations in the trial and attempt to win the war; on the other side, I lived as Annelies' dear lover, her prince in her dreams. I had to fit that image as close as possible.
Fortunately, our gloomy days soon subsided. The trial was closed with us as the victors after Ah Tjong reluctantly agreed that he murdered Herman Mellema and even persuaded Robert Mellema to join his side. Ah Tjong was sentenced to death, while that plump bastard's whereabouts was still unknown. Robert Mellema had sailed out of Dutch East Indies and only God knew where he was going. Annelies' health automatically recovered with this good news and our happy days came again. The farm's business had risen meteorically thanks to the media publication of the farm during the trial. And guess what? HBS offered me to continue my study again. Of course, I accepted that and returned to be a normal high school student like in the good old days. The difference now was Annelies was on my side now and I had diffused totally to be a Mellema's family member now.
I donned my uniform as I reminisced the sweet and sour past. How time flew so fast until the light itself had no idea where its alpha and omega is. Recently, Annelies and I had been officially engaged and we would marry soon after I graduated. I retrieved back my high grades in HBS like before and studied diligently every day for the final examinations.
'Ah, Mas,' Annelies slowly lifted her head from the pillow and rubbed her eyes, 'you have been ready to go?'
I replied in Javanese, the language that Annelies and I used when we spoke to each other due to our intimacy, 'Yes. Do you feel tired? You easily wake up earlier.'
'I guess so.' She opened her arms, waiting for my morning hug and kiss.
I bent my body forward, hugged her loosely and kissed her smooth cheek shortly. 'Don't force yourself into work if you feel quite unhealthy. Tell Mama. I'll be going soon, so see you in the evening.'
As I was about to take my schoolbag, Annelies thrust her body and lazily lounged on the wall. Her thick, dark hair crowned her naturally pretty face, making me want to kiss her all over if only I did not remember of school.
'Why are you looking like that, Mas?' Annelies cutely muttered to me. She was smiling so splendidly that I had to grab the door's knob to withstand this flame of passion within my heart.
'I just admire you too much, I guess. Well, ciao, my dove,' I waved my hand as I stepped out of the room.